Li from My Father Li Erhe, An Unexpected Encounter in the Hospital, The Deadly Prelude Begins

"Of course it's true!"

"Studying is such a brain-draining task, you definitely need to smoke more to keep your mind sharp. Here, Uncle will pay out of his own pocket and get you two cartons of Hehua cigarettes to moisten your lungs!"

Tang Shouye patted his pockets, paused for a moment, and with a grand wave of his hand, tossed out two cartons of Hehua. Wang Defa was so thrilled he almost called him 'Dad' right then and there!

Look at this, just look at this! This is the kind of generosity a man destined for great things should have!

Not like a certain old geezer who threatened to disown his son over an unfinished pack of Soft Chunghwa!

If a stranger walked into the room, they would definitely find it hard to keep a straight face. At first glance, everyone was fat, except for Tang Yuyao...

While Tang Shouye and Wang Defa were acting out a scene akin to Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo, the moment the Hehua cigarettes were successfully handed over, Wang Fugui, who was standing to the side, made his move.

Fast, accurate, and ruthless, he snatched the newly acquired Hehua right out of his rebellious son's hands.

"Smoke? What are you smoking for? You're so young, yet your teeth are stained yellow and your lungs are pitch black! You won't even know how you died when the time comes!" After righteously lecturing his son, Wang Fugui silently stuffed the two packs of Hehua into his own pants pockets.

Wang Defa: "..."

Wang Defa widened his eyes, looking at his old man in complete disbelief. His incredulous stare seemed to say... You old bastard!

Earlier, Wang Fugui hadn't fully grasped the situation and didn't dare to act rashly. After all, his rebellious son had gotten hit by a brick and immediately started studying earnestly upon getting back up. Perhaps a short-circuited wire in his brain had suddenly connected—this was a good thing!

Wang Fugui sometimes wondered why there was such a huge gap between his two sons, even though they were both his flesh and blood. The eldest was good at studying and good-looking, while the other... ahem, was also good-looking, but terrible at studying.

Wang Fugui's eldest son was furthering his studies in Dajing City. He took after his mother's side and was very handsome. As for his youngest son, Wang Defa, the father and son were practically carved from the same mold. If they walked together, there was no need for a paternity test.

It was just a pity that while he inherited his looks, he didn't inherit his IQ... Sigh.

In the past, Wang Fugui used to dream that his son was just young and hadn't come to his senses yet. Well... he was indeed young and hadn't come to his senses, because later on, Wang Defa learned to smoke and became a chain smoker.

He did come to his senses, but it would have been better if he hadn't. Every time he tried to discipline Wang Defa, the boy would talk back, saying things like, why demand things from me that you can't even do yourself?

It was true; Wang Fugui himself was a heavy smoker, so he didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to lecturing. It wasn't that he hadn't tried to quit, but he always ended up failing. Since he couldn't even uphold his own standards, he naturally couldn't righteously demand them of his son.

The result of his failed attempts to quit smoking was... Wang Fugui didn't get to smoke much himself. Whenever he finally managed to save up a few cigarettes to enjoy, he would reach into his pocket and, hey, guess what?

They were gone!

They had all been smoked by that chimney of a son, Wang Defa!

With such a stubborn rock for a son, Wang Fugui naturally hoped he would come to his senses sooner. He didn't ask for much—just a safe and peaceful life for the boy—but at the very least, he needed to quit smoking! Otherwise, Wang Fugui really would be reduced to smoking ten-yuan packs of Golden Leaf!

He thought the boy had finally turned a new leaf, but when he saw his rebellious son's eyes instantly light up at the mention of moistening his throat with good cigarettes, Wang Fugui realized... Turned a new leaf, my ass!

He was still the same little bastard!

Since he hadn't suddenly mutated or anything, the problem had to lie with those books!

Wang Fugui picked up the homework resting on the stool and looked at it, his brows quickly knitting together. "Isn't this homework?"

"Yeah, put it down, old man. I need to keep catching up on my homework." Wang Defa nodded, not dwelling on the fact that his dad had snatched his Hehua cigarettes earlier, because he had already memorized their location. He would just swipe them back later when the opportunity arose.

Swiping cigarettes was the easiest thing in the world for Wang Defa. There was no secret to it—practice makes perfect!

Before the cigarette even knew what hit it, it was already being smoked—such were the profound realizations of a seasoned smoker.

"Catching up on homework?" Tang Shouye froze for a moment. He took a couple of steps forward, looked at the items on the stool, and a look of sudden realization dawned on his face.

Oh... so he was catching up on homework. He was very familiar with that!

"Defa, why are you doing this yourself? Just pay someone to... Ahem, you should write your own homework!" Tang Shouye caught himself halfway through, realizing that the boy's father was standing right there. Wouldn't talking like that be blatantly corrupting someone else's child?

It was a bit inappropriate, so he hastily corrected himself.

"Uncle, do you think I don't want to?" Wang Defa's face scrunched up into a bitter gourd. As he lay there copying his homework, he poured out his grievances.

"This new student council president is too fierce. It's bad enough they treat the freshmen ruthlessly, but us sophomores and juniors have to suffer too. Sigh..."

After Wang Defa's explanation, Tang Shouye finally understood. It wasn't that Wang Defa didn't want to hire someone to do it for him; it was just that the inspections were too strict. If he got caught, he'd be hit with the parental notification package, along with demerits and disciplinary actions.

Tang Shouye gasped. "Hiss... That ruthless? Who is your student council president? Some little brat acting so high and mighty? Looks like they haven't suffered enough beatings from society!"

Feeling inexplicably indignant—perhaps recalling all the homework he had copied in the past and the ten-combo whippings he had endured from his own old man—Tang Shouye decided to support his junior!

"Uncle, you're the only reasonable one. Unlike this old geezer in my family who only knows how to act tough at home. Tell you what, Uncle, I'll be your godson..."

Wang Fugui: "???"

Wang Defa had basically just unleashed his ultimate move right in his father's face. Offering to acknowledge someone else as his dad right in front of his biological father—how could anyone tolerate that?

Wang Fugui clamped a hand on his belt, ready to unbuckle it and fiercely let his rebellious son experience what it meant by a father's love is as heavy as a mountain. But then he suddenly remembered that Tang Yuyao was still there. He stopped, his face taut.

You just wait, you little brat. If I don't whip you to death when we get back, you can be my dad!

"By the way, what's your student council president's name?" Tang Shouye asked casually.

"Oh, Uncle, you've probably heard of her." Wang Defa blinked his pea-sized eyes, a strangely wise look in his gaze.

"Heard of her?" Tang Shouye grew even more curious. What kind of junior was so sharp that even he had freaking heard of her?

"Yeah, Dongfang Zhixia. Uncle, you must have heard of her, right?"

Tang Shouye: "..."

As soon as those words came out, Tang Shouye was absolutely dumbfounded. Heard of her? That was an understatement! How could it be that little terror?

Because of some business dealings, Tang Shouye had had direct contact with Dongfang Zhixia. To sum it up in one sentence: she was beyond compare among her peers. Although she was still a bit young and aggressive, she did things flawlessly.

"Uncle, why aren't you saying anything?"

"Uncle?"

"Ahem, do your own homework. Do it properly, and don't think about slacking off. Sigh..." Tang Shouye looked at Wang Defa with an expression that said, why on earth did you enroll in that school?

Wang Defa: "..."

Did that mean he was beyond saving?

Fuck!

Stupid hands, write faster!!!

Wang Defa continued to write furiously with his head buried in his work, wishing he had grown two extra hands in his mother's womb so he could copy two more sets of homework.

Wang Fugui wasn't too surprised by his son's outrageous actions. He had done plenty of inhuman things in the past, and now, hitting himself with a brick just to make up for his homework was something Wang Fugui could accept with a calm state of mind.

Ignoring his rebellious son who was sweating profusely while making up for his homework, Wang Fugui heard Dongfang Zhixia's name being mentioned and remembered something, casually bringing it up.

"Shouye, if I remember correctly, the little girl following the Dongfang family's girl seems to be my sister-in-law's..."

Wang Fugui stopped here.

Tang Shouye nodded, "Yeah, my niece. I should call her my niece."

"Has the child still not returned to the Li family?" Wang Fugui frowned and asked.

Tang Shouye shook his head, "Sigh, it's not that easy. The child was born a bit slow, and when she was young..."

In the hospital room, Tang Shouye and Wang Fugui were chatting, Wang Defa was leaning over a stool with his big butt sticking out, making up his homework, and Tang Yuyao... was nowhere to be seen.

By the way, Tang Shouye's wife, originally named Li Juan, was from the Li family... The Li family of 'My father is Li Erhe'!

...

"What the heck, if I knew, I wouldn't have come!" Tang Yuyao was wandering alone in the hospital, feeling a bit bored and puffed up, looking quite unhappy. She was supposed to come and thank them, but they ended up chatting excitedly and leaving her aside.

Although... Tang Yuyao didn't like to participate in these kinds of things anyway; it was too troublesome. She only came to go through the motions, mainly letting her brother do the talking. Even if she didn't have to do anything, Tang Yuyao still felt so tired, sigh.

Since no one was paying attention to her, she simply ran out of the ward to get some fresh air. But once she started walking, she couldn't stop. Tang Yuyao used to work in a hospital too, and she used to be a chief surgeon...

A true hero doesn't mention their past bravery. Now Tang Yuyao was useless, having turned into a salted fish that wouldn't even turn over.

"These machines are from an old batch, this hospital isn't very good..."

"This one isn't very good either, this one is pretty good..."

Tang Yuyao commented along the way, wandering around the hospital. When it was about time, and her brother called, she would go back...

Along the way, she heard many cries and mourning from the hospital rooms, showing the various states of human life. Just as Tang Yuyao was about to stop and sigh with emotion, a familiar voice came from a hospital room.

"Old Gong, that's great, you're still alive. By the way, settle the registration fee for me..."

"Huh?" One sentence stopped the naturally suspicious Tang Yuyao!

This voice... sounded so familiar!!!